Are you looking for a simple, flavorful side dish to round out your dinner? Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice is the perfect solution! You'll love this quick & easy Instant Pot version.
This Cilantro Lime Rice also pairs perfectly with our Grilled Steak Salad with Feta, Broiled Swordfish Kabobs, or Instant Pot Cuban Black Beans.
Why you will love this recipe
With just a few ingredients and a few minutes of prep time, you can quickly have a nutritious side dish on the table. Plus, this recipe is perfect for busy weeknights when you need something fast and convenient to go with that rotisserie chicken you grabbed on your way home from work.
Jump to:
- Why you will love this recipe
- Ingredients
- How to make Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice
- Serving Suggestions
- Substitutions
- Equipment
- Storage
- Top Tips
- Frequently asked questions
- Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love
- Connect with Smells Like Delish!
- 📖 Recipe
- Join our Newsletter to get the latest recipes!
Ingredients
You probably have most of these ingredients on hand already. Super easy! Vegetable stock is perfect if you are vegetarian. If you don't have stock on hand, just use water. Or you can try our Instant Pot Chicken Stock recipe and make your own!
If you opt for brown long grain rice, just add an extra 15 minutes to your Instant Pot cook time.
- water or stock
- uncooked long grain rice
- salt
- olive oil
- lime juice
- lime zest
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to make Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice
Gather your ingredients and measure out your stock or water. Just add it to the Instant Pot. Next, add the uncooked, unrinsed rice. You may prefer a little more salt. Set your Instant Pot either on the pre-programmed "Rice" setting, or set it for 3 minutes on "high" pressure manually.
It will take about 10 minutes for your Instant Pot to come to full pressure, and that is when the countdown for the 3 minute cooking time starts.
Generally, you will hear a beep when the cooking time is completed. But, do not open the Instant Pot yet.
At this point, you will let the accumulated heat in the Instant Pot finish the cook, and also naturally depressurize. Steam is incredibly hot. Couple that with psi (pressure per square inch), and you could get badly burned if you opened the Instant Pot before letting it depressurize (or safely venting it).
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Opening the Instant Pot
The latent pressure and heat is what finishes cooking the rice. So, just leave your Instant Pot alone for a full 10 minutes. Then, using a wooden spoon, move the pressure release switch from "pressure" to "vent". The final steam will vent out, but there will not be much at this point.
Now you are ready to safely take the Instant Pot lid off. Fluff your Cilantro Lime Rice with a fork. Transfer it to a bowl, and add the cilantro, lime zest, lime juice, and the oil. Fluff again and serve!
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Left Over Rice
Double your recipe and save the leftovers. It's easier to make fried rice when it has been refrigerated first. The refrigeration changes the non resistant starch to resistant starch (lower glycemic index) and allows it to fry better than fresh cooked rice.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Serving Suggestions
Here are a few serving suggestions to take your Cilantro Lime Rice side dish to the next level. After fluffing and adding the lime juice & cilantro, mix in some black beans or corn for added color and flavor. Finally, top with shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, and/or avocado for a really tasty finishing touch.
Next time you make Cilantro Lime Rice give one of these combos a try the – you won’t be disappointed! The photo below shows the this Cilantro Lime Rice as a side dish for our Chile Relleno Burritos or Broiled Pineapple Swordfish Kabobs.
Substitutions
Here are a few substitutions you may need to make.
- Vegetable Broth - substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth if you are vegetarian. It will add a little more depth of flavor than plain water.
- Long Grain Brown Rice - If using long grain brown rice instead of long grain white rice, increase the cooking time by about 15 minutes.
Equipment
The Instant Pot is what makes this dish so quick and easy. You will find many brands of pre-programmed pressure cookers. Choose one that is the size best suited for your needs and budget. Look for a pre-programmed settings that you will really use.
I like to keep a 3 quart unit just for smaller batches of rice and grain side dishes. For larger quanties of rice, I use the 6 quart. The 6 quart is a great universal size for most of your needs. If you have a very large family, the 8 quart size might work even better.
Storage
I often make extra rice. I either freeze it or I plan to make Shrimp Fried Rice, or Rice & Lamb Stuffed Domades with the extra rice during the following week.
Rice gets hard after refrigeration. That's because the starch in the rice changes to resistant starch, and why it fries up easier in any fried rice dishes.
Top Tips
- My top tip is to buy the fresh pineapple already chunked up in the produce department at the grocery store. That just saves so much time.
- My second tip is to start your rice right after setting the swordfish, pineapple, and vegetables to marinate. This way the rice should be finished cooking when the kabobs are ready to serve.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can not only use regular long grain white or brown rice, but also white or brown Basmati rice. Jasmine rice is fine also.
No problem. For each cup of rice, use 1 ¾ cups of water. Make your rice normally like you would on the stove top. Just do not use the water amount on the bag instructions. Follow the instructions for our Perfect Foolproof Steamed White Rice.
After fully cooked according to those stove top directions, fluff and add the cilantro, lime zest, lime juice, and oil. Then serve.
Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love
Connect with Smells Like Delish!
Be sure to follow us on our social media accounts.
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice
Equipment
- Instant Pot, 6 qt or any brand of pre programmed pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups stock vegetable, chicken, or water
- 1 cup long grain white rice uncooked, do not rinse
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoon lime juice freshly squeezed
- 1 teaspoon lime zest freshly zested
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Add the rice, stock, 1 teaspoon of the oil, and salt to the Instant Pot, or other branded pre-programmed pressure cooker.
- Lock the lid on and put on Steam. Set the program for rice, or 3 minutes on High pressure. When beep signals cooking cycle completed, let naturally depressurize for 10 minutes.
- After waiting 10 minutes for pressure to naturally release, move the vent to Quick Pressure release, or on some to Vent. Remove the top and fluff rice with a fork.
- Transfer the cooked rice to a bowl. Combine the chopped cilantro, lime juice, and the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Add to the rice and toss until combined. Serve with your favorite main course!
Notes
- If you use brown long grain rice, set the cooking time to 18 minutes cook time.
- Don't rinse your rice before adding to the pressure cooker, it will cause too much water in the cooker.
- Zest the lime before juicing it. Save any left overs in your freezer for other recipes.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe? We could love to hear from you. Drop us a comment below.
Leave a Reply